U.S. Open Elimination Rounds Continue, Winners to Face off

More players have been ousted at the 36th U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships as the elimination rounds have continued Wednesday, while the 64 undefeated players remaining will be halved to 32 after Wednesday evening’s rounds.

Allen Hopkins, who took this event in 1977 and 1981, suffered a first-round loss to the formidable Lee Vann Corteza but recovered nicely, eliminating Jonathan Demet 11-9 and then former world 9-ball champion Thorsten Hohmann 11-8. Hopkins’ next opponent will be Brian Brekke.

Young gun Shane Jackson took out Jose Parica, a.k.a. “The Leader of the Filipino Invasion,” in the elimination round Wednesday afternoon. The score was close all through the match, but he ultimately pulled ahead to win it 11-9.

Deuel is still alive after his first-round loss to Li Wen Lo. Deuel routed Aradhana Naik 11-1 and then bested Robert Hart 11-5 to face Steve Lillis in the next round.

Another former champion of this event, Corey Deuel is still alive after his first-round loss to Li Wen Lo. Deuel routed Aradhana Naik 11-1 and then bested Robert Hart 11-5 to face Steve Lillis in the next round.

Eric Hjorliefson ousted New York’s Frankie Hernandez in the afternoon round 11-3, as fellow Canadian John Morra, who was bested in the first round by Shaun “Get Some” Wilkie 11-6, went on to send home Mike Davis 11-5 and then Jimmy Garza 11-4.

There are some tough winners’ matches to call coming up. Shane Van Boening, the 2007 champion, will face off against India’s Raj “The Hitman” Hundal, while another exciting match-up will be between five-time champion Earl Strickland and Donny Mills.

Ralf Souquet, who narrowly escaped a defeat at the hands of Wilkie in the previous round, will face Bill Duggan, who just eked out an 11-10 win over Jerry Tarantola. Reigning world 9-ball champion Yukio Akagariyama will play England’s Tony Crosby, and fellow Japanese player Kenichi Uchigaki plays Kevin Bailey.

Defending champion Darren Appleton will play Juan Carlos Esposito, while fellow Brits Karl Boyes and Mark Gray will match up. Closer to home, U.S. player Mike Dechaine will play Larry “The Truth” Nevel, as Shawn Putnam and B.J. Ussery will face each other.

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